The MRC Pontiac would like to provide the public with an update on the acquisition of the Shawville abattoir building and assets last May.
A group of agricultural producers are currently in the process of forming a cooperative. An official request for the creation of the Coopérative de Solidarité AgriSaveur du Pontiac has been filed with the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE). Once the application has been formalized by the ministry, the next step will be to hold a general meeting of organization (AGO) to form the cooperative’s Board of Directors, on which the MRC will occupy the seat of supporting member representative. Ultimately, the cooperative will be made up of producers, worker members and support members. Although no date has yet been set for the creation of the cooperative, we expect the regulatory and administrative process to be completed within the next few weeks. The cooperative will make the announcement once the date is known.
“As we’ve always said, the MRC’s number one priority is to keep the slaughterhouse operating in the Pontiac. Although the process of forming a cooperative is highly administrative, regulated and complex, we’re delighted to see the interest shown by producers in this project,” says Kim Lesage, general director of the MRC Pontiac.
During discussions to acquire the slaughterhouse’s assets, the cooperative group expressed the wish to manage the slaughterhouse’s activities and take over operations as quickly as possible, with a vision of delivering quality local products and ensuring professional, transparent service. Once the cooperative is officially constituted, members will take the necessary steps to obtain the required permits from MAPAQ for slaughtering, food processing and retailing activities.
Permits are required to reopen the slaughterhouse and resume meat-cutting activities in the Pontiac. The cooperative hopes to restart operations in the fall of 2024. Once the date of resumption of operations has been determined, the cooperative will post job openings to recruit the workforce required for operations.
In the meantime, the MRC is collecting contact information from potential customers for meat-cutting services. If you are interested in the slaughterhouse’s services, please do not hesitate to contact Shanna Armstrong, Economic Development Commissioner for Agriculture, by telephone at 819-648-5689, ext. 304, or by e-mail at s.armstrong@mrcpontiac.qc.ca.